Inference Tree Use to Design Arguments in Expository Reports

Inference Tree Use to Design Arguments in Expository Reports

Jens Mende
Copyright: © 2009 |Pages: 10
ISBN13: 9781599048451|ISBN10: 1599048450|EISBN13: 9781599048468
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-59904-845-1.ch056
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MLA

Mende, Jens. "Inference Tree Use to Design Arguments in Expository Reports." Encyclopedia of Information Communication Technology, edited by Antonio Cartelli and Marco Palma, IGI Global, 2009, pp. 419-428. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-845-1.ch056

APA

Mende, J. (2009). Inference Tree Use to Design Arguments in Expository Reports. In A. Cartelli & M. Palma (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Information Communication Technology (pp. 419-428). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-845-1.ch056

Chicago

Mende, Jens. "Inference Tree Use to Design Arguments in Expository Reports." In Encyclopedia of Information Communication Technology, edited by Antonio Cartelli and Marco Palma, 419-428. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2009. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-59904-845-1.ch056

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Abstract

When they write essays, many students merely attempt ‘to fill pages with material gathered from sources’ (Erion, 2000). Consequently, they produce inane arguments of the form: Adams said this, Brown said that, Cohen said the other, etc. Conclusion: much has been written about this topic. This is unacceptable both in academic ICT courses and subsequently in the ICT profession. In academe, a written argument should ‘make a leap from the raw materials of the library to an informed opinion’ (Fasel, 1963). In the profession, a written argument should similarly make a leap from a present state of affairs to a desired future state. So in both situations, writers should be able to devise a report that contains an argument from available facts towards an intelligent conclusion. This kind of report is called an ‘expository report’ (Trimble, 1975), or an ‘argumentative report’ (Dykeman, 1974).

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